E-Fuel and Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. partner to deliver inexpensive ethanol fuel
The E-Fuel Corporation has reached an agreement with the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. to create high-grade ethanol fuel from discarded beer yeast.
E-Fuel, the inventor of the world’s first home ethanol system – the Efuel100 MicroFueler – and Sierra Nevada have agreed to house MicroFuelers at the brewery in Chico, California, enabling Sierra Nevada to manufacture its own ethanol using waste from its brewing process. Testing will commence in Q2 2009 with a goal of achieving full-scale ethanol production in the third quarter.
Today, most waste is transported daily by trucks to be used as dairy feed on local farmlands but that will change once Sierra Nevada takes that waste and turns it into something that’s positive for both the environment and the hundreds of MicroFueler customers in the Central Valley area of California. On average, Sierra Nevada resells 1.6 million gallons of unusable “bottom of the barrel” beer yeast waste to farmers each year. Containing 5% to 8% alcohol content, the waste includes enough yeast and nutrients to enable the MicroFueler to raise that level to 15% alcohol, allowing for an increased ethanol yield. The MicroFueler will remove water from the waste to produce a high quality ethanol product.
“Creating ethanol from discarded organic waste is an excellent example of how the MicroFueler can help eliminate our reliance on the oil industry infrastructure. This is especially true when considering Americans reportedly discard 50% of all agricultural farmed products,” said Tom Quinn, E-Fuel founder and CEO. “Using a waste product to fuel your car is friendlier to the environment and lighter on your wallet, easily beating prices at the gas pump.”
“We are excited to partner with E-Fuel to develop an efficient way to recover waste ethanol from our spent yeast,” said Ken Grossman, Founder and President, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “This has the potential to be a great thing for the environment and further our commitment to be becoming more energy independent.”
The EFuel100 MicroFueler is the world’s first portable ethanol micro-refinery system. The household appliance-sized unit makes it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site. Dedicated to the “produce where you consume” energy model, the MicroFueler allows consumers to produce ethanol at the point of consumption, eliminating many problems associated with large-scale ethanol production, namely inefficient transportation and distribution, and the use of coal-fired electrical plants.
Please visit www.efuel100.com for more information.
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Tags: E-Fuel, Sierra Nevada Brewing
